November 2021

No disasters this month to report, unless you count the discovery of all the cows together in the same paddock.  We'd been keeping Noddy and the steers separate from the girls to avoid the risk of teenage pregnancy, but it looks like Noddy had other ideas.  That gate took quite a hammering - it must have been him.  Suffice to say that they're separated again, and a note made on the calendar saying 'Love Will Find a Way'.  Really hoping it didn't.

  

The afore-mentioned boat arrived to much excitement.  It's a 4.5m Marco that we've named 'Gladys' after Peter's mum.  She hated her name but we thought it'd be a cool name for a boat, and it's a lovely way to recall happy memories of 'Nana'.  Peter's boss Stefan came out with us on our maiden voyage out of Havelock Marina.  There's so many things to get right with launching, cruising and getting the boat back on the trailer, and we were extremely grateful for his experienced hand.  We feel confident go out on our own next time.  The trip out coincidentally was on Dad's birthday, so I took some flowers from the garden to scatter in the sea.

                       

The spring weather has been its usual mixed bag, though it's getting drier and drier.  Flowers of all colours are abundant.  The forget-me-not were grown from seeds celebrating our sister-in-law Linda's life.  Cheery red Flanders Poppies are popping up everywhere, and the beloved-by-honeybees bottle brush tree is having its first dash. 

  

Beyond the garden, flowers like these stunning white foxgloves and ox-eye daisies, had been lining the dog walk route to the river.  Until the logging company decided to upgrade the track that is.  They used heavy machinery to widen the track, obliterating the flowers alongside and creating huge dust banks.  They also obliterated heaps of brambles, leycesteria and broom, so not all bad.  A bridge is being re-constructed over the river, meaning our peaceful country retreat is likely to be disturbed by logging trucks again. Bugger.

  

The vege garden is looking OK and feeling manageable.  Plastic mesh netting has been bound together to protect new corn and bean plantings, and so far it seems to be working.  Round 2 Aztec corn is back in place and there've been no more seedling massacres.  The garlic is looking healthy, as are the golden cabbages in the same bed.  The step-over apple trees are fruiting away, and producing lots of leafy new branches.  Yummy raspberries and other berries are also growing profusely.  Karyn's bed is hosting carrots that I've sown.  She broke her pinky finger badly a few weeks ago so her plot has been mostly left to its own devices.  I did manage to trim the hedge, but weeding is unlikely to reach the priority list any time soon.  Better heal quick Karyn!

  

Madame Cholet is doing a great job of protecting tomatoes, peppers, rock melons, basil, a cucumber and an assortment of chillis.  More seedlings will join them when they're big enough.  The half barrel has some ginger root that has yet to germinate.

The strawberry and blueberry beds have been protected with bird netting (courtesy of Jane - I couldn't find mine so probably another flood loss).  Three of the raised beds have been planted with buckwheat and amaranth seed, and were originally protected with an assortment of wind and shade cloth.  Rabbit droppings were left on the cloth, so it looks like they may be some of the damage-culprits.  The cloths were removed once the seeds germinated, and metal mesh erected around the beds.  That should at least slow those rabbits down.  If it was quail and blackbird damage after all, then I'm stuffed.

Bees have been really busy, so I was optimistic that the hives would be thriving.  Happily I wasn't disappointed.  The 2 hives in the photo are the original one and the split.  Bee volume is similar in both and the addition of the top honey boxes was timely.  The hive at Jane and Al's is equally impressive, so it's also received a honey box.  Even the new colony that was a swarm from Derryn, is starting to build up its bee numbers.  Really exciting - should be fresh honey by Christmas.

 The gourds were drilled to make various sized holes, cleaned out (thanks Molly), dyed, sprayed with polyurethane, threaded with a leather-thonging strap, filled with potting compost and planted with succulents.  They've been dunked in a bucket of water a couple of times now, and that seems to be the best way of settling the compost and watering the plants.  The Mistletoe Market has been binned so they'll all be gifted.

Plants are taking over indoors as well.  Like many others, I'm starting to feel an irresistible urge to endlessly get my mits on houseplants.  The photo shows progress so far.  Most of the plants are young so optimistically will fill out over summer.  Karyn, Em, her partner Leo, Sam and Molly have also caught the bug, and swaps have happened.  Even Lucas wants to get some house plants when him and Laura get home.  On that note, the NZ government have announced that the borders will re-open to NZ citizens and residents from mid-February, so they booked flights pronto!  Yay, we haven't seen them for 2 years.  

Sam was hoping to have a break over Christmas, but the army have announced that the band will be staffing one of the Auckland MIQs for 3 weeks over the festive season.  Looks like we'll have to have to resort to a family Zoom on the big day after all.  Billy's Christmas parcel is the only one to have not arrived (yet), so fingers crossed the Spanish Post Office sort that out.  

Work continues for me and Peter, complicated of course by Covid.  Health workers and teachers have been mandated to be vaccinated, and a number have been stood down as a result of their unwillingness to do so.  It's a very sad state of affairs, and has added stress and general  weariness to the working environment.  Marlborough, like most of the South Island, has managed to avoid the Covid scourge so far.  Truly, madly deeply I hope that continues.

October 2021

October has seen our most harrowing lifestyle block experience so far. Our heifer, Athena, the first calf to be born on the property, who despite our best attempts, had never become pregnant. Too fat and then also too old we were told. However, one day she was behaving very oddly and we realised that she was in labour.  Noddy (pictured) must have finally succeeded where others had failed - maybe a selenium success at last. Our initial excitement turned to concern when she still hadn’t birthed hours later.  Eventually, the vet was called. She confirmed that the unborn calf was long dead and that things didn’t look good for Athena either.  Athena had become increasingly distressed and unable to stand. We faced the stark options of either an on-the-spot Caesarean, that she may not survive, or to put her down. Peter made the difficult decision to put her to sleep - she was clearly suffering and the thought of making that worse was unbearable.  Our good neighbour later came round with his digger and now she rests in peace in the paddock in which she was born. Had we got onto the selenium years ago, this tragedy might have been avoided.  RIP and in our hearts Athena. 

  

Meanwhile, the lambs continue to fill us with joy. Young Snowy pretty much weaned herself off the small volume of milk supplement we were giving her. She’s still petite compared to her siblings but she’s lively and robust. We managed finally to dock their tails after the usual rigmarole. The adult sheep also got their selenium drench and due attention was given to the clacking dags around Saul’s arse (again).  Both Skylar (white ewe) and Marie (black ewe) are shedding their wool, so they look pretty scrappy right now.  Happily, Skylar is looking less gaunt than she did soon after the birth of the triplets.  As a result of her penchant for sheep nuts, she's become quite tame again.  Maire is much more cautious but nonetheless also very fond of said nuts.

Numerous vege seedlings have been planted out. A few brassicas, more garlic, spring onions, coriander, spinach, silver beet, red and white onions, beetroot, daikon radish, and tomatoes purchased at the annual Linkwater School plant sale. Gorgeous Aztec corn, graciously germinated by Karyn, was proudly planted but the next morning was totally munted, every single one plucked out and discarded or magicked away. The thorough work of birds it seems - blackbirds or quail.  Hope there was a good reason for this massacre.  The same fate nearly befell the onion seedlings, but I noticed in time and covering with mesh seems to be a deterrent.

  

Asparagus has been prolific and awesome this year. I’ve enjoyed many a meal with asparagus in the starring role.  We have been privileged to have eaten like royalty lately, with venison and groper, sourced from hunting and fishing and gifted by friends Jane and Al from down the road. Even some presentation pizzazz eh? 

   The flower gardens are delightfully filling out.  The poached egg plant, beloved by bees, is seeding and flowering all over the place.  New plants from Linkwater are also swelling the ranks, and the pea straw is effectively mulching (or hiding) the weeds so it looks quite tidy still. The white-flowered shrub is a hydrangea, a present from Lucas a long while ago. This is its inaugural spectacular display, optimistically the first of many. 

   Elsewhere more flowers are popping up, including the beautifully fragrant wisteria by the sleepout.  Geraniums and other plants have been added to the trough outside the Womb.  Heaps of sunflower seeds are germinating, as are some very special forget-me-not seeds that were sent from the UK after the funeral of our truly awesome and much-loved sister-in-law, Linda.    

Peter has been busy on the firewood front, chopping up the logs that are littering the paddocks and the fence line.  We chopped a big log along the river bank when walking the dog one day. It rained heavily that night and the next day the chunk that we left behind had sailed away in the swollen Ohinemahuta River. Plenty more where that came from luckily.  We’re working on the ones that are easiest to access and best positioned to cut first. The woodshed is full and there’s more firewood in its extension.  It’s a great feeling to be ready for next winter so soon.  The huge huhu grub was one of many formerly resident in a large willow tree that fell down many moons ago in the wetland that Peter has been gradually working through.

Some de-crapping has also been happening, mostly burning of various piles of sticks and old bits of wood, and some of my old hive ware that’s well past its prime. There’ll be more once we clear out the carport next to the garage.  We’re hoping to put our boat in there when it arrives next week (if it fits).  We’ve been saving hard, and income from the vaccine clinics has added to the pot.  Peter is pretty excited as this is a long-standing dream come true for him. We’ll do our skipper license online and will take an experienced boatie out with us the first time at least.  More boat news next blog!  

Bees have been very exciting this month.  The split of my hive that Iwan helped with looks to have worked.  There’s normal bee activity at both colonies.  Derryn messaged one day with a photo of a swarm in her garden from one of her hives.  That colony now has a new home at Jane and Al’s place.  They are very keen on a bee ‘apprenticeship’ that I can help them with. It was a huge swarm so here’s hoping they’re happy in the valley. So far so good.

Work on the sleepout bedroom is slowly proceeding.  The electrician has sorted out the main light fitting and shifted the sockets to a better place.  Peter has filled in the millions of holes and cracks in the paintwork, and a new carpet is waiting to be installed.  Just the painting to do once the filler is sanded down.  It's coming together nicely and should be quite habitable by the time Lucas and Laura get here.  

The covid situation is still troublesome. Auckland and other parts of the North Island have been in levels 4 and 3 lockdowns for a while, and case numbers just aren’t settling yet. A single South Island case in Blenheim didn’t lead anywhere, so we dodged a bullet there, for now at least.  Vaccine rates are increasing but the country is some way off the 90% mark. New compulsory requirements for teachers, health workers and the hospitality sector to be fully vaccinated have massive implications for those who would otherwise choose not to be vaccinated.  We’re all still a little confused by the rules, and in any case, these will change to a new traffic light system soon.  

Meanwhile, Christmas is coming.  I’ve been as annoying as usual and have pretty much sorted out parcels to go to the UK, Spain, and Korea. They mightn’t yet make it, even though it’s still October. The US has just announced that they're not attempting to send parcels to NZ (and other countries) because the freight issues are too overwhelming. Maybe other countries will follow suit.  

Peter and me are potentially facing our first Christmas alone or not at home. That’s not a bad thought incidentally, though I’d hate to think that’ll be normal for us going forward.  Billy is still in Spain but his visa will run out in early 2022.  As always he has no specific plans beyond that, but as always he'll probably land on his feet somewhere perfect.  Lucas and Laura still haven't heard about Laura's residency visa yet, but they're making concrete plans for the happy day that they return to NZ (beginning with a very large TV).  Sam and Molly don't really know what they'll be working over Christmas, so we'll probably head to theirs at some point. The vaccine clinic work is showing signs of drying up, which was inevitable sooner or later.  The extra hours have worked well for me and may lead to some future work vaccinating pregnant women. I've managed to find a commitment-less week in November that I can take off - can't wait.  My Hypnotherapy portfolio is dangerously close to submission, and I've promised myself an online ukelele course when it's finally out of my hair.  A solid week off will make all the difference.  

September 2021

Spring has sprung, and very welcome it is too.  Though it's been the wettest spring that I can recall, there's no doubt that the increase in temperature has been triggering fresh pasture and weed growth, fattening buds and bursting blossoms out, including these exquisite peachcot blooms.  It's also meant that some evenings are comfortable inside without a lit fire.  Hopefully we'll soon get a few sunny days to dry out the sodden pastures.

  The most delightful spring event has been the birth of beautiful lambs.  Our black ewe Marie was first up to birth a gorgeous jet black ewe lamb (called Clover).  We discovered later that she'd actually birthed twins, but the other lamb was very small and stillborn.  A few days later, Skyler who had been absolutely huge, birthed triplets.  We realised she was in labour and got there in time to witness the birth of her 2nd lamb.  The firstborn lamb popped into sight and we were delighted that there were 2 liveborn lambs.  We blinked and then voila - a 3rd lamb appeared.  They are 2 girls (Snowy and Stormy) and a boy (Sunny - all named by Melissa thank you!). Snowy is significantly smaller than the others.  Maybe she was a little weaker and the others got the lion's share of the milk.  We've been giving her a couple of top-up feeds a day, and she's got much livelier.  She likes to sleep lying on top of her mum - adorably cute but very tricky to photograph.  They're all fabulous time-wasters.

Meanwhile the cows are enjoying extended pasture options.  Instead of our aborted holidays to Sydney and Coromandel, we decided to stay at home for our week of leave.  Peter had already put in the new fence posts along the river boundary, a couple of metres in front of the old fence.  We managed to wire them up, including a hot wire, so could finally let the cattle into the back paddocks.  They immediately went mad scoffing the new grass, and poor Attis must have overdone it and ended up with a sore tummy.  It took a few days before he was back to normal again, but we were quite worried about him for a while there.  Pandora and Nike are still separated from the others and will remain so until they're old enough to become pregnant (in another year).  Pandora looks to be on heat so here's hoping the fences are good enough to keep them apart until then.     

 The garden also got some attention during that week.  The vege garden gravel paths are now done (except for one corner) and they're looking pretty darn good.  In fact, better than ever, which does make me feel a bit like I took advantage of the good natures of my garden fairies.  The gravel paths around the house are sporting a vibrant green crop of weedy grass - a gift from the silty floodwaters - and this makes me deeply appreciative that the vege garden paths won't have the same fate.  I don't mind weed spraying non-food areas, so it'll be easily sorted when I get round to it.  The garlic hadn't washed away in the flood and is now through.  I've planted a few more bulbs for good measure, and also some bought spring onion and coriander seedlings.  Such a good feeling to get things in the ground.  

 Madame Cholet is hosting the first batch of germinating seeds - various brassicas, spinach, beets, onions, daikon radish, lettuce, tomatoes and chillis are all popping up.  I'm having a bash at planting by the moon and these were sown around the last full moon.  I'm waiting until the weekend to plant the spuds, and soon after I'll get the beans and corn sown in the toilet roll plant pots that are lined up.

  

Black and red currant cuttings are planted out, as are a couple of new white currants.  The old gooseberry plants were spikily taking over the world and kept cross-pollinating and producing only a few small fruit.  They're now dug out and 2 new desert gooseberry plants have replaced them.  Two fruit trees gifted by Raylene at the Garden Bee have been re-homed in keyhole bed centres.  All these new plantings are in weed-matted beds, so that should cut down on future weeding hurray!  The strawberry bed has even been re-vamped.  Some new camarosa plants were planted, fertiliser was added, weedmat re-applied and Karyn's gravel loaded back on top.  The bed has a leaky hose running through it.  Just a case of remembering to plug that in every now and then.  

   

The flower gardens are showing signs of life, even flowers are appearing.  I planted some old-fashioned English bluebells around the base of the tulip tree and they've popped into life.  Irises and rosemary flowers are also adding purply blue to the colour palette out there.  The main flower bed is now totally weeded and pea straw applied.  The old pea straw was laid first.  It was already rotting down and full of river silt (guessing I'm going to be doing lots of weeding there this year).  A few new bales were needed to complete the task - these bales are full of pea seeds so I'll also be weeding out pea plants.

 The hedge cuttings that would have been planted around a couple of the keyhole beds sailed away in the flood, never to be seen again.  I've taken new ones but probably too late.  Here's hoping nonetheless... The tree seedlings that didn't float away (lots of oak, some pine nuts and an assortment of random probably stone fruit) have yet to be planted in the woodlot but their time will come.

Two demi-johns of mead are bubbling away and the Gorse Flower wine has had its first racking.  Molly was quite impressed with it - she thinks it tastes like apple crumble.  It was an optimistic enough taste to warrant another batch, which I'll get on with as soon as I get a sunny day at home with time on my hands.  I've spotted a recipe for Gorse Flower Gin too, so heaps of flowers will be necessary.  Luckily there's no shortage and it's a great feeling to be using a plant that has pest status here. 

  Sam and Molly came over for a weekend.  Plenty of eating and drinking happened as usual, and we had a fab day out in Picton (missed you Grannie-Annie!).  The family tradition of Mini Golf had to happen, won by Peter (no surprises there).  We trawled the shops and the stunning foreshore then headed home for a game of Monopoly (won by me - no surprises there either).  The face masks had arrived in a parcel from Lucas and Laura in Korea.  They made our skin peachy soft and helped wile away the evening hours (we know how to party here you know).  

 I'm still picking up vaccine clinic shifts.  While we were back under level 4 lockdown, the whole vaccination operation moved into the Stadium: plenty of room for 2m distancing, and literally thousands of freshly motivated people to vaccinate.  Now we're in level 2 the clinic has returned to its original venue, and the outreach clinics are being extended.  We did the first drive-thru at the weekend, using New World supermarket trolleys to stash the vaccination equipment that were taken out to cars.     

 I've been putting the mountain of beeswax to good candle-making use.  I probably have too many moulds but they are all adorable.  I'm making enough of these curious pregnant woman torso candles to gift my midwife colleagues at Christmas.  A few a day when I'm home and it's raining seems to be working.  It does keep me from doing other things I should be doing on a rainy day (like writing up my diploma portfolio), but it keeps me happy, and that's a pretty powerful argument when you have a dilemma.

 Lucas and Laura are patiently waiting for Laura's residency to come through, and in the meantime Laura has got a job working for the same company as Lucas as a junior website developer.  That's fantastic news for them because she can do that anywhere, even from the Onamalutu Valley.  Billy is enjoying au pairing in Ibiza, including being flown into Mallorca with his host family for football purposes.  His birthday present to Peter was the current Leeds shirt - proudly modeled in the photo.

Just us and the dog at home, so it's rather peaceful here.  Work keeps us both busy of course, but our downtime is relaxing enough despite the Life-Sentence Block work.  Better get back outside - those lambs won't watch themselves after all...